Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation as the introduction to a retreat for priests of various dioceses at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal. It was preached on February 28, 2024.

Mark 1:21-28: Today’s Gospel about the authority with which Jesus spoke in the synagogue of Capernaum. It was a place of quiet, to read the Word of God, and to pray.

Jesus simply spoke. That is the power of his word. Just like with his word he could create the heavens and the earth. No need for special incantations, or long prayers, or formulas.

But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. He tells him to be quiet. There is no way the devil could say or speak anything of value. In a certain way he is telling each one of us to be quite too, we need to stay silent, because he has much to tell us.

Thumbnail: Jesus expels demon in Possessed man in Synagogue, by James Tissot, 1886. In Brooklyn Museum.

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com